Welcome to Leerain
Details character introductions until entry to Nue Harad. Saa'miri el-Akram, or Miri, boarded late for the Bright Passage. After she was confirmed a passenger on the ship, Deimos Burnsides escorted her throughout the ship. Along the way they met Maude, whom was helping another member of the crew, Balio. Miri tried to tip Deimos but he refused it. It was an awkward encounter. Miri worked on her inventions some evenings, and Maude would to talk to her. They conversed, and Miri thought she had made a friend, but Maude thought otherwise. Maude cared for the ill on the ship, and Deimos, a skilled seaman, assisted on the vessel where appropriate. After some time, they landed at Port Alzarin, a small shipping port. As the three headed to a tavern, a drunkard stumbled into Miri, stealing her coin purse unbeknownst to Miri. The three continued on to the tavern, having some drinks and enjoying themselves. When it came time to pay, Miri discovered her purse to be stolen. She entered a fit of rage and held up the bar, which was ultimately unsuccessful. Miri turned to Deimos and Maude for help. The two were successful in finding information about the thief, but refused to share their information with Miri, as they believed that she would kill the culprit. Miri, feelings hurt and further outraged, pouted. Deimos and Maude eventually gave Miri information, but they lead the way. Deimos and Maude interacted with the thief first, who is named Hassan, still believing Miri would hurt him. Eventually. Miri was able to converse with Hassan, and got her money back. After hearing Hassan's story, she gave 10 gold to Hassan, and told the kids they need to spend it on books and education. Miri settled her debt at the tavern and stormed off to sleep on the boat that evening, still frustrated with her companions beliefs and the situation. The Bright Passage set sail again, closer than ever to Leerain. Some time passed, and another boat boarded the Bright Passage. The goods the Bright Passage carried were being pirated away. Deimos, Maude, and Miri went above deck to investigate. Orcish pirates had boarded and were conversing with the captain, non-violently, which set the group on their suspicions. All three confront the orcs, whom made advances on the group at the same time. Miri shot her pistol in the air to get the attention of the leader. Omen, the leader of the "pirates", was also affiliated of the Guild, and putting on a show to "steal" Guild goods. "The Guild doesn't want people to know everything we're up to. We're paying for this, but to keep people off the scent, we're masquerading as brigands," Omen whispered to Miri, also showing his mark of Moradun. Deimos got rowdy with the orcs, and Maude used magic against them - alerting Omen immediately. Miri convinced Omen that there were no arcanists aboard the Bright Passage. Omen continued to take the property of the Bright Passage while all passengers remained below deck, Miri stationed to prevent anyone from coming above deck. The night passed and a terrible storm rolled in, splitting the ship in two. Deimos was able to manage the ship for a few minutes, kicking Marcus off of steering duty, but the ship was lost. The group jumped into a rowboat but the storm worsened, eventually crashing the rowboat. All three members of the rowboat passed out, Miri making a last ditch effort to send an illusory flare. Deimos awoke on a sandy beach and gathered his companions, waking first Maude then Miri, who's veil uncovered her eyes to Deimos. The group dragged themselves up the shore to the edge of the woods, to rest more. They set up camp to recover their energy for a few days. The group fought kobolds, which Miri thought to eat as a source of food. Deimos and Maude were horrified with her thought process. The kobolds carried spoons and shells. Deimos, Maude, and Miri continued onward after recovering enough energy. Deimos and Maude reveal themselves to be arcanists to Miri, which makes Miri uncomfortable. She is torn about her companions wielding arcane power. Miri kicks Maude and Deimos awake in the early morning at the end of her watch and states "We need to talk about what happens next," as she points her guns at them. After a tense discussion, they decide to continue on as a group. An orc hunting party eventually runs into the group, and they lead the group to a nearby village. They are introduced to the elder and her son, Durn. Her son made a deal with the group; take care of the Kobolds, and we will help you get to the mainland. The group went to the Kobold cave, and on the way learned something about Deimos - he is a tiefling, cursed by a devil named Balen. He died at age 18 in war but Balen made a deal with him to bring him back to life. They enter the cave, and murder several kobolds. Attempting to flush the rest out and scare them away from the village, the group smokes out the cave and makes a lot of noise. Exiting the cave, the group is confronted by the kobold family and leader. Through broken communication, the group discovered that the kobolds worshiped something on the mountain, but there was something preventing them from completing their worship. The group decided to head back to the village for more information. Upon returning to the village, the group discovered that a dragon lived on top of it but the villagers were pretty chill about it being there. The group set out again and hiked to the top of the mountain and met the blue dragon that resided there, with kobolds as her followers.On entry to the cave, Deimos tried to throw a spoon into the mouth of the cave, but it bounced back due to a poor throw. Before it could bounce over the edge, Miri snatched it out of the air. The kobolds called her "Lady of Thunder." The Lady disclosed that the kobolds in the hill need to bring her back something new for her in order for them to stop stealing from the village. The trio decided to begin to look for items themselves. Unsuccessful, they revisit the kobolds, with Deimos disguised as another kobold. The trio convinced the leader kobold, Shi'thead, to travel with them as the group explained that they need to bring different items to the Lady. Bringing Shi'thead back to the Orc village, the group sought Durn's attention and thoughts. He was surprised, but came up with two ideas, one involved an Axebeak egg. Deimos now disguised himself as an Axebeak, albeit a very ugly one, yet managed to gain the attention of two male Axebeaks. Maude and Miri took care of the females, and got an egg. Miri attempted to make an illusory egg to distract the Axebeaks, but it did not work, so she positioned herself on the cliff above the furthest nest. Maude attempted to use Mage Hand to lift an egg from a distance, but her magic did not work. Miri took matters into her own hands by dropping a smoke bomb on the nest and then rolling off the ledge. She scooped up the egg and sprinted away, two Axebeaks in tow. Maude ran after Deimos, of whom was frying an Axebeak. Sprinting past Shi'thead, Miri shouted "Get going!" The Axebeaks persisted, and Miri turned to face them, gently dropping the egg without breaking it. Maude and Deimos caught up to the show down, and the group killed the birds. They took the egg back to the village to drain it of its yolk and and built a stand for it out of bones. Then, the trio forced Durn and Shi'thead to travel together to the Lady with the gift. Durn was nervous, but the group told him it would be good for him (for real why did we make Durn do this lol). After the kobolds escorted the party in the cave, the Lady looked over the gift. She accepted the gift, and allow the group to name Shi'thead, Shi'thead, of which she accepted back for worship. The kobolds were now at peace with the orcs. The trio celebrated with the village that night. Miri and Maude had a chugging contest and beat the orcs. Wasted, some secrets came out of the group - Deimos confided to Maude that he harbored Balen inside of himself. Miri told the two that the first person she tried to shoot was herself, but failed because the Guild doesn't hand out bullets for the first year. Maude and Miri got snippy with another before bed. In the morning, Durn and the trio set sail to the main land. Deimos fought a shark and won. Maude "pushed" Miri into the water. When they landed, they were not in Nue Harad, but in another coastal town about a months journey away. They spent some time in the town, with Miri headed to the Guild building and Maude following her. Miri bought herself ammo, and stayed behind when Maude left, seeking intel. Miri asked questions about anything happening locally, and if anything was happening on the continent. She asked if there were any arcanists in town, and if there was anyone the Guild was looking for. No one is being hunted by the Guild in this area. Maude headed to the temple for incense, and met the local shaman. Deimos met up with the girl at the temple, after visiting the blacksmith. Miri and Maude received a blessing from the shaman. The trio stopped at the marketplace, where Deimos acquired a turban. The group set out toward Nue Harad. After several days of no incidents, a group of harpies attacked, seducing Miri and Maude to almost walk over a cliff. Deimos pulled them back from the edge and the fight begun. Miri took some feathers. The group eventually arrived at Land's End. A Guild member, Balerius, is known to live in town, but went out on a mission five days ago and has not been heard or seen since. The group went through the town, selling various items they had accumulated over their journey. The decided to enter the woods to find Balerius, and continue onward. They found no signs of him the first night. The second day, Miri found a revolver on the side of the path, and a little further, they found a caravan of goods - abandoned. They obtained rations and opened a chest with the mark of the Guild on it, which held a few healing potions. The revolver was cursed, and made Miri refuse to give up the gun when Deimos asked for it. She fled. and eventually attacked the other two. They knocked her out twice. She used levitate to get up to the gun and back down. They tied her up, and then Maude decided to take hold of the gun. The gun led them further into the forest. Once awoken, Miri was no longer under the influence of the gun. She took a piggy back ride on Deimos. After some time, the forest attacked the group. Deimos and Maude were restrained, and Miri held on to dear life. They eventually defeated the plants, though Miri was downed. They took a rest before entering a clearing. A tree with black bark and bright red leaves stood tall, and a hollow was in the hill side. Miri wanted to check out the tree first, but the group went to the hollow initially. There was a huge spider in the hollow, though Miri could not see anything, and ran back out to investigate the tree. The roots of the tree grabbed Maude and Deimos, and launched them to the surface through the earth. Miri found at the base of the tree were claw marks, which trigger deja vu for her... a memory of her past, she has seen this mark before, but is uncertain as to what it is. The tree pulsated with red energy. It was a pain to kill, with Miri almost dying in the process. Deimos and Maude used their magics against the tree, and Miri tried some of her napalm bombs. The tree eventually engulfed Miri, but Deimos pulled her out. Miri dealt the final blow, exploding sap all over the trio. Miri took a sample of the blood sap as well as the revolver, which no longer was cursed. The group traveled back to Land's End and reported what they saw and endured. The town was saddened by the loss of Balerius, but Miri promised she would get the town another agent. The group went through his house and found gold, healing potions, some formulas, and a necklace with a portrait in it. The possessions were left with the town except for the gold and potions. Pressing on their journey, the group reached a fork in the road where they rested for the evening. In the morning, they decided to take the route towards a town, and found a halfling woman by the name of Agelia. Agelia gave the group information about the local area and stated they had no Guild agent in town. She also asked us to check in on her brother, (___), owner of an inn on the road to Nue Harad. The group agreed. Maude asked to pet her sheep, and had a moment to snuggle with them. The group carried onward, toward where they assume Nue Harad is. They bantered, Miri asking Maude what she's doing on this continent, as well as Deimos. Maude is running away from a town that thinks she is dead, and is looking for information about her parents. Deimos claims he is here because it is his work. His two children Hektor and Nemesis, are his pride and joy. After battling several creatures on their path, the group reaches Stonehaven, a mining town the farmer Agelia spoke of. The group immediately found the general store where Maude both a lot of incense. Miri caught wind of Guiild agents in town, and scurried off to find them. Deimos bought rations in the meantime. Miri reached the smaller of the two houses and knocked on the door, and a gnome woman stepped out named Livia. Livia gave the group a lot of information: Work was available in town to help deliver coal across the mountain, the other Guild agent is named Jost, she has heard rumors that agents are leaving the Guild, and she has indeed heard the name Omen before. The rumors were fueled by agents joining a splinter faction of the Guild, lead by a woman named Lidia. This faction's goal and belief were that a secret group of arcanists were joining together to form greater powers. Livia does not believe in that. She also has only heard of a few arcanists on this continent, and nothing nearby. When asked about Omen, she said she had heard the name of the Goliath before, and thinks his is part of the splinter group. The trio went to a tavern that evening, and Miri told the two of Omen and his mark, and that they should keep an eye out for him. Deimos no longer needs to sleep at night. The next morning, Miri visited Jost, and Maude and Deimos visited the mine, securing a job to help deliver coal. Maude named all of the oxen to the foreman's dismay. Miri asked Jost if he too has heard of Omen, and he stated that he maybe drank with him once in Nue Harad. The group set out yet again. Several days past without issue. On the third day, the group arrived at a clearing in the valley. This is where their struggles began. They set up for the night, and were ambushed. Deimos took off to the brush to find the source of arrows being shot at them. Miri threw a napalm in the trees, attempting to light up the area (it did very little to help). Maude and Miri stayed with the carts, taking many hits between them. A gremlin thing took one of the crates and Miri fired at it, and Mordecai barfed acid at it, killing it. Miri ran to get the crate. Eventually, Deimos and Maude needed help, and Miri had to run back to revive Maude, while Maude ran to revive Deimos. The creatures had taken all of Deimos' belongings. Maude and Deimos decided to press on to find the creatures, but to no luck. Miri found her way back to the cart, and found that 5 of 100 crates had been stolen. Deimos and Maude were unsuccessful in finding the creatures and returned to the carts. The group decided to rest and try again in the morning. When rested, the group hid the carts and let the oxen roam the valley. They set off to find the creatures, thinking they could solve several issues at once by getting the stolen goods back and Deimos' belongings. They eventually reached a field, where they saw a cave entrance and similar sized creatures that they encountered the night before. Deimos turned invisible to sneak inside the cave while Maude and Miri stayed behind and snuck closer to the entrance. Deimos entered the cave, after creating a distraction. The guards rang an alarm. Maude began to prepare to cast spells on the creatures, and Miri made a choice. As more creatures gathered at the entrance, Miri stated "Well, the time has come," and cast minor illusion to make the image of a snake bob and weave in front of the guards, which shocked Maude. The girls took out the creatures at the front and met up with Deimos in the cave, holding his ground against a larger group. The trio swiftly took care of the hoard. Still unable to find Deimos' gear, they continued on into the cave. Through another tunnel, they found larger creatures in another room of the cave. After taking care of them, they found an almost 20 foot tall skeleton that seemed to have died in the spot it sat in. Deimos and Miri took toe bones for the road, and Deimos attempted to put the skull over his head. He broke it, so they took some teeth too. Two rooms connected to the main room, and the group entered one of them. The new room had symbols reminiscent to clan or tribal writing, and had an alarm system within it. The group doubled back and entered the second room, where there were more bugbears that the group took care of. In this room, Maude found an amulet to boost her health, Deimos found his gear, and Miri found a lot of gold, jewels, and a statue of a hound with 3 claw marks on the bottom of the base, again familiar to her. Miri held onto the statue. The group relocated the five crates, and walked back to their caravan and oxen which were roughed up a bit by a now dead wolf. Good job oxen! Miri sat down with Maude and Deimos and told them about her past and how she came to possess innate arcane power. She believes that she can be changed, and joined the Guild in selfish intent to learn more about herself. The three discussed about morals and ideas each had, and at the end of the night had newfound trust in another. Two large troll-like creatures attacked them in the middle of the night coming after the oxen. The group dealth with the trolls and managed to keep the oxen alive for another day. Maude and Deimos stayed up later to talk about Deimos' book and political manifesto. Eventually, the trio completed their journey across the mountain and ended up in Tahkras, another mining town. The delivered the coal and received payment. They spent time in Tahkras, staying at The Inn, renting out the Goliath room. They investigated Church presence in Tahkras, and talked to Erigone, the Guild agent of the town. At the Church, they ran into Omen talking to a priest. Omen eyed the group, especially Maude then walked out of the building. The group asked the priest about Omen and the rumors of Lidia. The learned Omen was opening a new mine in Tahkras, which used a new type of device that runs on "divine" power. Erigone is a nervous agent that keeps her shutters and doors locked. She did not like the idea of fighting creatures. Deimos let her read up on his creature manual, while the trio looked over her equipment and formulas. After exhausting Tahkras, the group decided to continue onto Nue Harad. Before coming to the inn, they saw a man leaning against a tree, arms crossed. As they approached, the man stood, in a ready position. It was Omen. Omen began to converse with the group, accusing one of them to be an Arcanist. The group tried to reason with Omen, and convince him otherwise, but Omen's convictions stood strong with him. A fatal fight began... and Omen was slain. The group buried him, and left. They came across the inn run by the brother of Agelia. The ordered a Goliath room and talked to the brother about local news, and learned of sightings of a hound that came in the evenings. The group chose to wait outside in the evening to observe anything... and they discovered nothing. They went to sleep. The next morning, the innkeeper was found dead. Upon realizing their host had been murdered in the night, the team made an effort to solve the case. They struggled and had limited success. They discovered that the innkeeper was marked by the Beast, and his head and brain were liquefied. His heart was removed wholly. The group tried to interrogate the others that stayed the night, but gathered minimal information. Maude and Deimos did not trust in Miri's thought process to solve the case, and Miri felt that they do not trust her ability to wield authority and use it for good. With the tavern crime seemingly unsolvable, the trio left and continued on to Nue Harad. A few more days of travel without issue, and the group reached the large city of Nue Harad.